Abandoned cremated remains given proper burial in Northville cemetery

10:14 AM, June 25, 2014

Father Jack Baker blesses a coffin containing the remains of 59 cremated individuals at Rural Hill Cemetery in Northville on June 20, 2014. Pastor Rob Allen of Northville's First Presbyterian Church is to his right. / Kurt Kuban/O&E

By Kurt Kuban

Gannett Michigan

It may have been a long time coming, but 59 deceased individuals, including several military veterans, at last found a final resting place at Northville’s Rural Hill Cemetery on Friday.

Their cremated remains, which had been left abandoned by family members over the years, were put into one casket and buried in a plot at the scenic cemetery off of Seven Mile. But not before a moving ceremony attended by more than 100 people, including the Honor Guard from American Legion Post 32 in Livonia.

The ceremony and burial was set up by David Griffin of L.J. Griffin Funeral Homes. Griffin recently purchased the Northrop-Sassaman Funeral Home in Northville, and inherited the cremated remains, which had been stored in a steel case at the funeral home. Many of the remains came over from the Northrop Funeral Home in Redford, and some dated back to the 1930s.

Once he learned of their sad fate, Griffin said he devised the idea for the burial. He approached Rural Hill, purchased a plot and everything else needed for the burial, including a headstone that will be placed at the grave in the coming months. He said it will be a black headstone, and include all the names and dates of the deceased.

“We knew we had to do something,“ Griffin said. “We did the right think to honor these folks, who were essentially forgotten.”

Father Jack Baker of St. Perpetra Parish in Waterford (and formerly of St. Mary in Wayne) and Pastor Rob Allen of Northville’s First Presbyterian Church offered eulogies for the individuals, and the Honor Guard played taps and provided a 21-gun salute for the seven military veterans, including Spanish-American War vet Norval Marlett, who passed away in 1955.

John Sassaman, who sold his funeral home to Griffin, said the remains had accumulated over the years.

“They were left by families who used the services in our funeral homes, and after the service just left them with us,” Sassaman said. “Many of the deceased had no children, which may explain why they were abandoned.”

Most of the people who attended Friday’s service were quite moved, and many tears were shed, even though nobody there knew any of the people that were being honored.

“We wouldn‘t have missed this for the world. We always support our veterans. It was a beautiful ceremony, and just took my breath away,” said Linda Shirkey, a member of the American Legion Post 32 Auxiliary. “This was long overdue.”

Father Baker agreed.

“It is time to let them lay in peace,” he said.

Kurt Kuban is a reporter for the Observer and Eccentric newspapers. Contact him: //kkuban@hometownlife.com | 734-716-0783